Josh from Lewistown, PA
Vic, did you do your tiebreaker crunching yet? What's on the line against Tampa and are they an underrated team or are they as bad as their record suggests?
The Packers will clinch a playoff berth with a win in Tampa and either an Eagles loss or a Cowboys win. The Packers can even clinch a playoff berth with a loss, provided the Eagles lose and the Cowboys win. Tampa's rankings aren't impressive, but they won in Pittsburgh and nearly beat the Bengals two weeks ago. Also, don't forget that Lovie Smith has a pretty good feel for the Packers from his days in Chicago. Coming off the loss in Buffalo, nobody should be taking this game lightly. A Packers loss would allow the Lions to clinch the NFC North with a win.
Beau from Lancaster, PA
Who should we be pulling for in the Cards/Seahawks game? If the Cards win, it guarantees them the No. 1 seed, so Seattle is a wild card. If the Seahawks win, it still keeps the door open for the Packers to get the No. 1 seed, but Seattle would have to lose to the Rams.
I want the Cardinals to win.
Jerry from Lancaster, CA
Vic, everyone has worried all year about the defense, but the glaring problem in three of the four losses has been the offense. How does McCarthy fix this against a top-flight defense?
You could make the point that offense was a problem in all four losses. The Packers certainly moved the ball against the Saints, but turnovers sabotaged the cause. It's the Packers' identity, in my opinion, that they win or lose with offense. When their offense is playing at its usually high level, it can pick up the slack of an underperforming defense. What we saw this past Sunday, and we also saw it in Detroit, is that even when the defense was playing at a high level, the Packers couldn't win with defense alone. This is a team built on offense. That's the Packers' identity.
Jon from Cedar Rapids, IA
What are your thoughts on the Packers making the opponents' defense try and stop the run first? I think if we make opposing teams fear Lacy and Starks, they will not be able to rush four and cover with seven.
Sounds good to me. Beat it with the run, beat it with the pass, whatever it takes. New England used a lot of rush four, drop seven, right? Aaron Rodgers threw for 368 yards against the Patriots. So what's the difference between the Patriots' defense and the Bills'? Twelve ranking places, that's what. At the end of the day, it's not about the scheme, it's about the players in the scheme. Why can't we accept that? It's not about rush four, cover seven. It's about the four guys rushing and the seven guys covering.
Tom from Dubuque, IA
I've been a Packers fan for 50 years. They owe me and all the fans an apology for a disgraceful performance.
You don't mean that, Tom. You've just lost control of your emotions.
Aaron from Los Angeles, CA
I was wondering why this year we seem to not play well at all on the road? We've always been a solid to great road team under Coach McCarthy. Do you think it's just a product of playing three top-five defenses on the road this year?
The Packers didn't play well in Chicago, Miami and Minnesota?
Tom from Appleton, WI
You called it in 2011 when we lost to the Giants in the playoffs. If the offensive line gives Rodgers time against a four-man rush, how do our receivers get open against seven defenders? If we could solve that, the sky would be the limit for this team.
If seven are covering four, then somebody is being covered by one. He's the guy that needs to win the one-on-one. Isn't that what Davante Adams did against New England?
